Chattanooga: Parking rate to rise to 75 cents

To offset a shortfall of roughly $1 million, CARTA will make slight reductions in service and zero in on bringing more revenue through such means as increased parking-meter rates and vehicle sponsorships, transit agency officials said Thursday.

Due to high diesel fuel prices, the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority anticipates a budget shortfall for the current fiscal year, which began July 1. In order to help balance its budget, CARTA’s board Thursday approved parking-meter rate increases that will be phased in starting at the end of August.

The rate hikes are expected to bring another $400,000 in revenue for the agency.

CARTA also is budgeting $250,000 for 10 electric shuttle sponsorships at $25,000 a piece. Tom Dugan, CARTA’s executive director, said the agency already has a commitment from one shuttle sponsor, which he would not name during Thursday’s board meeting.

In addition, he said the agency has sold sponsorships for regular fixed-route buses, which, like the sponsored shuttles, will be “wrapped” with advertising messages from the sponsors.

“We’re focused totally on the revenue side of things,” Mr. Dugan said.

One revenue source — parking meters — have not had rate increases in about 20 years, Mr. Dugan said. CARTA took over management of the meters from the city last year and now collects and keeps money from the devices.

About 50 percent of the 1,842 on-street meters downtown cost 25 cents an hour with a two-hour maximum. Under the changes passed by the board this morning, most of the meters will go to 75 cents per hour with a two-hour cap.

Mr. Dugan said CARTA plans eventually to increase the parking-meter rate to $1 per hour, although he said he does not know when that change would take effect.

CARTA officials said they hope the rate increases also will make people who have been parking for hours and hours at meters use parking garages and parking lots instead. Mr. Dugan said people who feed the same meter all day are breaking city law because of the two-hour limit on the meters.

But Dr. Warren Mackey, a CARTA board member and Hamilton County commissioner, voted against the parking-meter rate increases, saying they would hurt working people who use the meters downtown.

“In support of just working-class people, it’s troubling,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dugan said small service reductions will take effect in the middle of August. Those cuts are:

n Free downtown electric shuttle service will begin a half hour later on Saturdays and Sundays, starting at 9:30 a.m. instead of 9 a.m.

n Reducing midday frequency on the St. Elmo route from 40 minutes to 60 minutes

n Ending four “express” trips on the Northgate route

Mr. Dugan said the CARTA board does not have to take any action to implement these service cuts.

“Those are minor,” he said. “Those don’t even require a public hearing.”

CARTA held a public hearing on its budget woes last week, and Mr. Dugan said riders made it known that they are willing to pay a little more to ride the bus and would wait longer if needed, but they do not want to see their routes shut down.

Until a couple of weeks ago, CARTA officials were considering two more severe choices: ending the free electric shuttle service or shutting down all fixed-route buses on nights after 8 p.m. and on weekends. There also was some discussion of cutting a mix of shuttle and fixed-route service.

Meanwhile, Steve Jett, CARTA’s board chairman, said he hopes that the transit agency does not have to increase its bus fares yet again. The price of a ride just increased a quarter on June 30, with the rate rising from $1.25 to $1.50.